Venus *** Who was Venus? Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty, seen in the following picture with Pygmalion and her baby son Cupid by her lover Mars, the god of war . The first day of the month on the Roman calendar was the Kalends. On the kalends of April (April 1), the Romans celebrated a festival to honor Venus, known as the Veneralia. During the festival both women and men of all classes invoked the goddess for her assistance in affairs of the heart, sex, betrothal and marriage. There were many myths and legends surrounding this beautiful goddess in ancient mythology, refer to the Apple of Discord, Proserpine, Adonis and the Goddess of Beauty. Picture of Venus and the sculptor Pygmalion Facts about Venus The following facts and profile provides a fast overview of Venus: Venus Profile & Fact File Roman Name: Venus Role & Function: The function of Venus is described as being the goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, passion and desire Status: Major Goddess and one of the 'Dei Consentes', the Council of Gods. Symbols: the dolphin, scallop shell, rose, dove, pomegranate, pearl, mirror and girdle.

Gender: Female Greek Counterpart: The Greek name for this goddess was Aphrodite Name of Husband: Vulcan Name of Father: Jupiter Name of Mother: Dione Names of Children: None by her husband, but many children by her lovers including Cupid, god of love by Mars, the Roman god of war Facts about Venus in Roman Mythology Discover interesting information and facts about Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The facts about Venus provides a list detailing fascinating additional info to increase your knowledge about Venus in ancient Roman history and Mythology. History and Mythical Facts about Venus Fact 1 about Venus: She was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione and the wife of Vulcan. Dione was one of the Oceanides, a descendent of the Titans. Fact 2 about Venus: The names of her lovers who included Mars, Bacchus, Mercury, Neptune, Anchises, Adonis, Butes, Phaon and Phaethon.

Fact 3 about Venus: The names of the children of Aphrodite included Anteros, Aeneas, Astynoos, Beroe, Deimos, Cupid , Eryx, the Erotes , Eunomia, Concordia, Hermaphroditos, Himeros, Iakkhos, Peitho, Phobos, Pothos, Priapos, Rhodoe, Tyche , Herophilos and Lyros. Fact 4 about Venus: The rose and the myrtle are sacred to Venus and connected with the Story of Adonis. Fact 5 about Venus: The pomegranate was sacred to the goddess symbolizing the consummation of marriage and the loss of female virginity Fact 6 about Venus: Vulcan made Venus a beautiful golden carriage that was drawn by doves.

Fact 7 about Venus: Her children by Mars were Phobos (fear), Deimos (terror), Concordia (harmony), Cupid (love) Himeros (desire), Pothos (passion), and Anteros (mutual love) Fact 8 about Venus: She ordered Psyche to go to the infernal regions of Underworld to ask Proserpina, the consort of Pluto for a box of precious ointment. Fact 9 about Venus: All of the gods were charmed with her beauty and each one demanded her for his wife. Jupiter gave her to Vulcan, in gratitude for the service he had rendered in forging thunderbolts. The most beautiful of all the goddesses became the wife of the ugliest of the gods. Fact 10 about Venus: Venus was often associated with lust, whereas Verticordia was the goddess of chastity Fact 11 about Venus: The Veneralia was the Ancient Roman festival of Venus Verticordia and was held on April 1. Fact 12 about Venus: The Veneralia included rites such as the ritual bathing of the cult statue of Venus.

The jewelry, which included beautiful golden necklaces was removed from her statue and then she was offered sacrifices of flowers, especially roses. Fact 13 about Venus: The other sacrifices offered to Venus, were white and female goats and swine, with libations of wine, milk and honey with crushed poppies. Fact 14 about Venus: The Veneralia was a day for Roman women to seek divine support and aid in their love lives. Fact 15 about Venus: Pygmalion was a sculptor who made a statue that was more beautiful than any woman that had ever lived. He prayed to the goddess of love to change his statue into a real woman and she granted his wish. Fact 16 about Venus: Suadela was one of her train of attendants; the god of the soft speech of love. Pothos, the god of the amities of love was also part of her retinue Venus and her lover, Mars, the god of war Venus (Greek Counterpart was Aphrodite) The Romans habitually assimilated various elements from other cultures and civilisations, including the gods and goddesses that were worshipped by the Greeks and other nations.

When the Roman Empire conquered the Greeks in 146BC many of the Greek gods and goddesses were adopted by the Romans. The Romans simply changed the Greek gods names to Latin equivalents. The Greek counterpart of Venus was Aphrodite. The Roman religion significantly differed from the Greeks in that it was officially endorsed by the state and exerted influence over the government of Rome. Politicians took the offices of influential priests, called pontiffs, to gain control of the popular worship, Roman gods and goddesses like Venus were worshipped at every public event, including the gladiatorial games, where blood sacrifices were made to the gods. In ancient Rome, the pantheon of 12 major gods, including Venus, were called the 'Dei Consentes' meaning the Council of Gods. Venus and the Roman Gods Family Tree and Genealogy The Roman gods family tree provides an instant overview of the genealogy and the family connections and relationships between the main deities, including Venus, who feature in the legends and mythology of the ancient Romans. The Primeval gods and deities, the Titans and the Roman Olympians.

Venus Goddess of Love and Beauty Interesting information and Facts about the Roman goddess of love The Roman goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, passion and desire Stories and Legends in Roman Mythology associated with Venus Facts and information about the Gods and Deities of the Ancient World for schools and kids The Roman goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, passion and desire Aphrodite and the Gods of Love: Roman Venus (Getty Villa Exhibitions) Aphrodite and the Gods of Love Roman Venus Venus (The Venus of Capua), Roman, A.D. 117–138. Marble, 87 in. high. Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Image © Worship of Aphrodite continued throughout the Roman period. Known as Venus, she came to symbolize Rome's imperial power. Like her Greek counterpart Aphrodite, Venus was intimately associated with love and beauty, yet other elements were distinctive to the Roman goddess. Venus's first temples were erected in Rome during the 200s B.C. to solicit her assistance in battles, and individual leaders later allied themselves with the deity.

Julius Caesar and his heir, Augustus, forged particularly explicit ties to Venus, claiming descent through her son, the Trojan hero Aeneas. The goddess was repeatedly represented in civic architecture and on coins, and her attractive figure became symbolic of Roman power throughout the empire. The statue at right was discovered at the amphitheater in Capua, in southern Italy. It is the largest example of a sculptural type that derives from a now-lost cult statue of Aphrodite in Corinth. Originally displayed holding a shield, the goddess stood for the desirability of military success and civic peace. Combining sexual allure and martial symbolism, the Venus of Capua evokes the Greek past, yet also bears new resonances in its Roman civic context. Venus - Goddess of Love - Crystalinks Venus Venus was the Roman goddess whose functions encompassed love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the mother of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was venerated in Roman religion under numerous cult titles.

The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus becomes one of the most widely referenced deities of Greco-Roman mythology as the embodiment of love and sexuality.. Later, under Greek influence, she was equated with Aphrodite and assumed many of her aspects. Venus is the daughter of Jupiter, and some of her lovers include Mars and Vulcan, modeled on the affairs of Aphrodite. Her cult began in Ardea and Lavinium, Latium. On August 18, 293 BC, her oldest temple was built. August 18 was then a festival called the Vinalia Rustica. The oldest temple known of Venus dates back to 293 BCE, and was inaugurated on August 18. Later, on this date the Vinalia Rustica was observed. A second festival, that of the Veneralia, was celebrated on April 1 in honor of Venus Verticordia, who later became the protector against vice. Her temple was built in 114 BCE.

After the Roman defeat near Lake Trasum in 215 BCE, a temple was built on the Capitol for Venus Erycina. This temple was officially opened on April 23, and a festival, the Vinalia Priora, was instituted to celebrate the occasion. Her importance rose, and that of her cult, through the influence of several Roman political leaders. The dictator Sulla made her his patroness, and both Julius Caesar and the emperor Augustus named her the ancestor of their (Julian) family: the 'gens Julia' was Aeneas, son of Venus and the mortal Anchises. Julius Caesar introduced the cult of Venus Genetrix, the goddess of motherhood and marriage, and built a temple for her in 46 BCE. He introduced Venus Genetrix as a goddess of motherhood and domesticity. She was also honored in the temple of Mars Ultor. The last great temple of Venus was built by the emperor Hadrianus near the Colosseum in 135 CE. Venus was often referred to with epithet Venus Erycina ("of the heather").

Venus embodies sex, beauty, enticement, seduction and persuasive female charm among the community of immortal gods; in Latin orthography, her name is indistinguishable from the Latin noun venus ("sexual love" and "sexual desire"), from which it derives. Venus has been described as perhaps "the most original creation of the Roman pantheon" and "an ill-defined and assimilative" native goddess, combined "with a strange and exotic Aphrodite". Mythology In myth, Venus-Aphrodite was born of sea-foam. Roman theology presents Venus as the yielding, watery female principle, essential to the generation and balance of life. Her male counterparts in the Roman pantheon, Vulcan and Mars, are active and fiery. Venus absorbs and tempers the male essence, uniting the opposites of male and female in mutual affection. She is essentially assimilative and benign, and embraces several otherwise quite disparate functions, She can give military victory, sexual success, good fortune and prosperity. In one context, she is a goddess of prostitutes; in another, she turns the hearts of men and women from sexual vice to virtue.

Due to her early association with Aphrodite in the interpretatio graeca, it is hard to establish what characteristics the native Italic Venus may have had. In her earliest forms, as a goddess of vegetation and gardens, she was commonly associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Etruscan deity Turan, borrowing aspects from each. As with most other gods and goddesses in Roman mythology, the literary concept of Venus is mantled in whole-cloth borrowings from the literary Greek mythology of her counterpart, Aphrodite. In some Latin mythology Cupid was the son of Venus and Mars, the god of war. At other times, or in parallel myths and theologies, Venus was understood to be the consort of Vulcan. Virgil , in compliment to his patron Augustus and the gens Julia, embellished an existing connection between Venus, whom Julius Caesar had adopted as his protectress, and Aeneas. Vergil's Aeneid has Venus lead Aeneas to Latium in her heavenly form, as the morning star, shining brightly before him in the daylight sky.

In the interpretatio romana of the Germanic pantheon during the early centuries AD, Venus became identified with the Germanic goddess Frijjo, giving rise to the loan translation "Friday" for dies Veneris. The historical cognate of the dawn goddess in Germanic tradition, however, would be Ostara. Festivals Venus was offered official (state-sponsored) cult in certain festivals of the Roman calendar. Her sacred month was April (Latin Mensis Aprilis) which Roman etymologists understood to derive from aperire, "to open," with reference to the springtime blossoming of trees and flowers. Veneralia (April 1) was held in honour of Venus Verticordia ("Venus the Changer of Hearts"), and Fortuna Virilis (Virile or strong Good Fortune), whose cult was probably by far the older of the two. Venus Verticordia was invented in 220 BC, in response to advice from a Sibylline oracle during the last tears of Rome's Punic Wars, when a series of prodigies was taken to signify divine displeasure at sexual offenses among Romans of every category and class, including several men and three Vestal Virgins.

Her statue was dedicated by a young woman, chosen as the most pudica (sexually pure) in Rome by a committee of Roman matrons. At first, this statue was probably housed within Fortuna Virilis' temple, perhaps as divine reinforcement against the perceived moral and religious failings of its cult. In 114 BC Venus Verticordia was given her own temple. She was meant to persuade Romans of both sexes and every class, whether married or unmarried, to cherish the traditional sexual proprieties and morality known to please the gods and benefit the State. During her rites, her cult image was taken from her temple to the men's baths, where it was undressed and washed in warm water by her female attendants, then garlanded with myrtle. Women and men asked Venus Verticordia's help in affairs of the heart, sex, betrothal and marriage. For Ovid, Venus's acceptance of the epithet and its attendant responsibilities represented a change of heart in the goddess herself. Vinalia urbana (April 23), a wine festival shared by Venus and Jupiter, king of the gods. Venus was patron of "profane" wine, for everyday human use.

Jupiter was patron of the strongest, purest, sacrificial grade wine, and controlled the weather on which the autumn grape-harvest would depend. At this festival, men and women alike drank the new vintage of ordinary, non-sacral wine in honor of Venus, whose powers had provided humankind with this gift. Upper-class women gathered at Venus's Capitoline temple, where a libation of the previous year's vintage, sacred to Jupiter, was poured into a nearby ditch. Common girls (vulgares puellae) and prostitutes gathered at Venus' temple just outside the Colline gate, where they offered her myrtle, mint, and rushes concealed in rose-bunches and asked her for "beauty and popular favour", and to be made "charming and witty". Vinalia Rustica (August 19), originally a rustic Latin festival of wine, vegetable growth and fertility. This was almost certainly Venus' oldest festival and was associated with her earliest known form, Venus Obsequens. Kitchen gardens and market-gardens, and presumably vineyards were dedicated to her. Roman opinions differed on whose festival it was.

Varro insists that the day was sacred to Jupiter, whose control of the weather governed the ripening of the grapes; but the sacrificial victim, a female lamb (agna), may be evidence that it once belonged to Venus alone. Festival of Venus Genetrix (September 26) held from 46 BC at her Temple in the Forum of Caesar, in fulfillment of a promise to the goddess by Julius Caesar, in return for his victory. Its rites are not known. Private Cults and Everyday Life Her cults may represent the religiously legitimate charm and seduction of the divine by mortals, in contrast to the formal, contractual relations between most members of Rome's official pantheon and the state, and the unofficial, illicit manipulation of divine forces through magic. Images of Venus have been found in domestic murals, mosaics and household shrines (lararia). Petronius, in his Satyricon, places an image of Venus among the Lares of the freedman Trimalchio's lararium. Prospective brides offered Venus a gift "before the wedding"; the nature of the gift, and its timing, are unknown.

Some Roman sources say that girls who come of age offer their toys to Venus; it is unclear where the offering is made, and others say this gift is to the Lares. In dice-games, a popular pastime among Romans of all classes, the luckiest, best possible roll was known as "Venus". Signs and Symbols Venus' signs were for the most part the same as Aphrodite's. They included roses, which were offered in Venus' Porta Collina rites, and above all, myrtle (Latin murtos), which was cultivated for its white, sweetly scented flowers, aromatic, evergreen leaves and its various medical-magical properties. Before its adoption into Venus' cults, myrtle was used in the purification rites of Cloacina, the Etruscan-Roman goddess of Rome's main sewer; later, Cloacina's association with Venus' sacred plant made her Venus Cloacina. Likewise, Roman folk-etymology transformed the ancient, obscure goddess Murcia into "Venus of the Myrtles, whom we now call Murcia". Venus' statues and her worshipers wore myrtle crowns at her festivals.

Roman generals given an ovation, a lesser form of Roman triumph, wore a myrtle crown to purify themselves and their armies of blood-guilt. The ovation was assimilated to Venus Victrix ("Victorious Venus"), who was held to have granted and purified its relatively "easy" victory. Myrtle was thought a particularly potent aphrodisiac. The female pudendum, particularly the clitoris, was known as murtos (myrtle). As goddess of love and sex, Venus played an essential role at Roman prenuptial rites and wedding nights, so myrtle and roses were used in bridal bouquets; but the marriage itself was under the authority of Juno, not Venus; so myrtle was excluded from the bridal crown. In the rites to Bona Dea, a goddess of female chastity, Venus, myrtle and anything male were not only excluded, but unmentionable. The wine used at these rites was not Venus' ordinary, everyday wine but Jupiter's wine, the strongest, sacrificial grade, which was otherwise reserved for the Roman gods, and for Roman men. For the duration of the festival it was euphemistically referred to as "honey".

Under these special circumstances, the women could get virtuously, religiously drunk on strong wine, safe from Venus' temptations. Outside of this context, ordinary wine (that is, Venus' wine) tinctured with myrtle oil was thought a particularly suitable drink for women. Temple of Venus and Roma Venus' first Roman temple was dedicated to Venus Obsequens ("Propitious Venus") in 293 BC, on the Esquiline Hill, supposedly subsidised by fines imposed on Roman women for sexual misdemeanours. Shortly after 217 BC, a temple was founded on the Capitoline Hill to house the image of Venus Erycina, captured from the Sicilian town of Eryx. Another temple to Venus Erycina as a fertility deity was built around 181, just outside the Colline Gate. Pompey the Great's theatre, dedicated in 55 BC on the Campus Martius, included a large temple to Venus Victrix; his rival Julius Caesar vowed and built a temple to Venus in his new-built forum.

In 135 AD the Emperor Hadrian inaugurated a temple to Venus Felix (Lucky Venus) and the goddess Roma Aeterna (Eternal Rome) on Rome's Velian Hill. It was the largest temple in Ancient Rome. In the late Roman Republican era, Vitruvius recommends that any new temple to Venus be sited according to rules laid down by the Etruscan haruspices, and built "near to the gate" of the city, where it would be less likely to contaminate "the matrons and youth with the influence of lust". He finds the Corinthian style, slender, elegant, enriched with ornamental leaves and surmounted by volutes, appropriate to Venus' character and disposition. Vitruvius recommends the widest possible spacing between the temple columns, producing a light and airy space, and he offers Venus's temple in Caesar's forum as an example of how not to do it; the densely spaced, thickset columns darken the interior, hide the temple doors and crowd the walkways, so that matrons who wish to honor the goddess must enter her temple in single file, rather than arm-in arm.

Development The earliest known cult to Venus in Rome was the cult to Venus Obsequens, ("Propitious Venus"), vowed by Q. Fabius Gurges, supposedly in the heat of battle, in return for his victory over the Samnites. According to tradition, the temple and cult were funded by fines imposed on Roman women for sexual misdemeanors. Its rites and character were probably influenced by or based on Greek Aphrodite's cults, already diffused in various forms throughout Italian Magna Graeca. The dedication date connects this form of Venus to the Vinalia festival. A second, rather different cult to Venus was created during the opening episodes of the Second Punic War between Rome, Carthage and their respective allies. After Rome's catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, the Sibylline oracle suggested that the so-called Venus of Eryx (Venus Erycina), who belonged to Carthage's Sicilian allies, might be persuaded to change her allegiance. In 217 BC the Romans laid siege to Eryx, captured the goddess' image and brought it to Rome.

Once there, this "foreign Venus", who probably combined elements of Aphrodite and a more warlike Carthaginian-Phoenician Astarte, was shorn of her more overtly Carthaginian characteristics and installed as one of Rome's twelve Dii consentes in a temple on the Capitoline Hill. As Rome's foundation myth made Venus-Aphrodite the divine ancestor of the Roman people, this may have been understood as a homecoming, rather than arrival. Rome eventually defeated Carthage; thereafter, Venus was firmly connected both to Rome's growing political and military hegemony and its mythical Trojan past. Venus' links with Troy can be traced (via Aphrodite) to the epic, mythic history of the Trojan War, and the Judgement of Paris, in which the Trojan prince Paris chose Aphrodite over Hera and Athena, setting off a train of events that led to war between the Greeks and Trojans, and eventually to Troy's destruction. In Rome's foundation myth, this victorious Venus was the divine mother of the Trojan prince Aeneas, and thus a divine ancestor of the Roman people as a whole, in her form as Venus Genetrix.

Another temple to Venus Erycina as a fertility deity was established in a traditionally plebeian district just outside the Colline Gate, beyond the pomerium. Towards the end of the Roman republic, some leading Romans laid more personal claims to Venus' favour. Sulla adopted Felix as a surname, acknowledging his debt to heaven-sent good fortune and his particular debt to Venus Felix, for his extraordinarily fortunate political and military career. His protege Pompey competed for Venus' favours. He celebrated his triumph of 54 BC with coins that showed her crowned with triumphal laurels, and built a lavishly appointed theatre and temple complex dedicated to Venus Victrix. Pompey's erstwhile ally and later opponent Julius Caesar went still further, claiming the favors of Venus Victrix in his military success and Venus Genetrix as a personal, divine ancestress - apparently a long-standing family tradition among the Julii. Caesar's heir, Augustus, adopted both claims as evidence of his inherent fitness for office and divine approval of his rule.

Augustus' new temple to Mars Ultor, divine father of Rome's legendary founder Romulus, would have underlined the point, with the image of avenging Mars "almost certainly" accompanied by that of his divine consort Venus, and possibly a statue of the deceased and deified Caesar. The Emperor Hadrian's temple to Venus and the goddess Roma Aeterna (Eternal Rome) made Venus the protective genetrix of the entire Roman state, its people and fortunes. In Art Venus de Milo Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created sometime between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty (Venus to the Romans). It is a marble sculpture, slightly larger than life size at 203 cm (6 ft 8 in) high. The arms and original plinth were lost following the discovery. From an inscription that was on its plinth, it is thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch; earlier, it was mistakenly attributed to the master sculptor Praxiteles. It is currently on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

As a classical figure for whom nudity was her natural state, it was socially acceptable to depict her unclothed. As the goddess of sexual healing, a degree of erotic beauty in her presentation was justified, which had an obvious appeal to many artists and their patrons. Over time, "Venus" came to refer to any artistic depiction of a nude woman, even when there was no indication that the subject was the goddess. Venus with a Mirror Venus with a Mirror (About 1555) is a painting by Titian, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The pose of the Venus resembles the classical statues of the Venus de' Medici in Florence or the Capitoline Venus in Rome, which Titian may have seen when he wrote that was "learning from the marvelous ancient stones." The painting is said to celebrate the ideal beauty of the female form, or to be a critique of vanity, or perhaps both. It was copied by several later artists, including Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony Van Dyck. Birth of Venus by Botticelli The Birth of Venus is a 1486 painting by Sandro Botticelli.

It depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore (which is related to the Venus Anadyomene motif). The painting is held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The iconography of Birth of Venus is very similar to a description of the event (or rather, a description of a sculpture of the event) in a poem by Angelo Poliziano, the Stanze per la giostra. No single text provides the precise content of the painting, however, which has led scholars to propose many sources and interpretations. Art historians who specialize in the Italian Renaissance have found a Neoplatonic interpretation, which was most clearly articulated by Ernst Gombrich, to be the most enduring way to understand the painting. For Plato - and so for the members of the Florentine Platonic Academy - Venus had two aspects: she was an earthly goddess who aroused humans to physical love or she was a heavenly goddess who inspired intellectual love in them. Plato further argued that contemplation of physical beauty allowed the mind to better understand spiritual beauty. So, looking at Venus, the most beautiful of goddesses, might at first raise a physical response in viewers which then lifted their minds towards the Creator.

A Neoplatonic reading of Botticelli's Birth of Venus suggests that 15th-century viewers would have looked at the painting and felt their minds lifted to the realm of divine love. More recently, questions have arisen about Neoplatonism as the dominant intellectual system of late 15th-century Florence, and scholars have indicated that there might be other ways to interpret Botticelli's mythological paintings. In particular, both Primavera and Birth of Venus have been seen as wedding paintings that suggest appropriate behaviors for brides and grooms. Venus and Adonis Venus became a popular subject of painting and sculpture during the Renaissance period in Europe. As a "classical" figure for whom nudity was her natural state, it was socially acceptable to depict her unclothed. As the goddess of sexuality, a degree of erotic beauty in her presentation was justified, which appealed to many artists and their patrons. Over time, venus came to refer to any artistic depiction in post-classical art of a nude woman, even when there was no indication that the subject was the goddess.

Venus - Ancient History Encyclopedia Venus by Brittany Garcia published on 27 August 2013 In Roman mythology , Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. She was the Roman counterpart to the Greek Aphrodite . However, Roman Venus had many abilities beyond the Greek Aphrodite; she was a goddess of victory, fertility, and even prostitution. According to Hesiod 's Theogony, Aphrodite was born of the foam from the sea after Saturn (Greek Cronus) castrated his father Uranus (Ouranus) and his blood fell to the sea. This latter explanation appears to be more a popular theory due to the countless artworks depicting Venus rising from the sea in a clam. Divine Lovers & Children Venus had two main divine lovers: her husband Vulcan ( Hephaistos ) and Mars ( Ares ). There is a myth concerning Venus' and Mars' love affair and how Vulcan cunningly trapped them in bed with a net. Therefore, Vulcan and Venus had a loveless marriage and no children. Albeit, the goddess of love and sex was not barren; she had many children from different gods.

With Mars, she gave birth to Timor (Phobos) the personification of fear who accompanied his father into battle , his twin Metus (Deimos) the personification of terror, Concordia (Harmonia) the goddess of harmony and concord, and the Cupids ( Erotes ) who were a collection of winged love deities who represented the different aspects of love. Remove Ads Advertisement The Roman poet Ovid recounts that Aphrodite bore Hermaphroditos by Hermes , who was the epitome of effeminacy and androgyny. She also bore with either Hermes or Zeus , Fortuna (Tyche) who was the personification of luck and fate within Roman religion . Venus is ascribed as the mother of the minor deity Priapus (a fertility god often characterized with an absurdly large phallus) by Bacchus. According to Pausanias , the Graces were thought to be the offspring of Venus and Bacchus, but more commonly their birth is credited to Jupiter and Euynome. However, the Graces were part of Venus' retinue along with the Cupids and Suadela, the goddess of persuasion in the realms of romance, love, and seduction.

Mortal Lovers, Children, & Descendants Venus had several mortal lovers as well. The two most famous would be Anchises and Adonis , but she was also the lover of the Sicilian king Butes and mother to their son Eryx and Paethon with whom she mothered Sandocus, who fathered Metamorphoses' Cinyras. Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book X) recounts how Venus fell in love with the mortal Adonis (either due to his beauty or Cupid's arrow) and besought Proserpina ( Persephone ) to care for him until she came for him. The two goddesses both grew enamored with the mortal, so they fought until Zeus decided that Adonis would spend one-third the year with each of them and a third wherever he pleased. Ultimately, he spent his time with Venus until he was killed by a boar. According to the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Anchises, a prince from Dardania and ally to Troy , was seduced by Venus. She disguised herself as a Phrygian princess and seduced him; it was only nine months later that she revealed her divine identity.

She presented Anchises with their son Aeneas. Venus warned Anchises never to brag about their affair lest he be struck by Jupiter. Unfortunately, Anchises did brag and was crippled by Jupiter's bolt. The Trojan Aeneas, according to Virgil's Aeneid , was fated to found Rome guided by his divine mother Venus. Aeneas' son Ascanius or Iulus, a king of Alba Longa, was credited, by Virgil, to be the ancestor of the founders of Rome: Romulus and Remus along with the Gens (family) Julia. The Gen Julia was the family that included Julius Caesar , Augustus ( Octavian ) Caesar and his descendants. Advertisement Temples, Cults, & Festival in Ancient Rome The first appearance of a temple to Venus was in 295 BCE. It was to Venus Obsequens (Obedient Venus) on the Aventine Hill by Q. Fabius Gurges. However, this temple was diffused with Greek aspects (Aphrodite's cults) and was not a new creation.

In 217 BCE, the Sibyline oracle suggested that if Rome (at that time losing the Second Punic War ) could persuade Venus Eyrcina (Venus of Eryx) to change her allegiance from the Carthagian Silician allies to the Romans, the war would be won. Rome laid siege to Eryx, offered the goddess a magnificent temple and took her image back to Rome. It was this foreign image that eventually became Rome's Venus Genetrix (Venus the Mother). The cult forming around Venus Genetrix on the Capitoline Hill was reserved for the higher-classes, but in 181 BCE and 114 BCE the temples and cult of Venus Eycina and Venus Verticordia (Venus the changer of hearts) were established for the plebeians. Venus' month was April (the beginning of spring and fertility) when most of her festivals were held. On the first of April a festival was held in honor of Venus Verticordia called Veneralia. On the 23rd, Vinalia Urbana was held which was a wine festival belonging to both Venus (goddess of profane wine) and Jupiter.

Vinalia Rusticia was held on August 10th. It was Venus' oldest festival and associated with her form as Venus Obsequens. September 26th was the date for the festival of Venus Genetrix, the mother and protector of Rome. Venus & Politics At the close of the Roman Republic , some Romans laid claim to Venus' favor and competed for it, such as: Sulla (adopting the name Felix, Latin for lucky, and accrediting Venus Felix to his divine favor), Pompey (who dedicated, in 55 BCE, a temple to Venus Victris - Venus of Victory), Julius Caesar (who claimed favor with Venus Victrix and Venus Genetrix), and Hadrian (who, in 139 CE, dedicated a temple to Venus and Roma Aererna - Eternal Rome - making Venus the protective mother of the Roman state). History of Venus and Aphrodite Goddess of Love Venus and Aphrodite: Were they Both Goddesses of Love? The Roman Goddess Venus is the Greek version of Aphrodite. Their stories are similar, and both are the main deity honored in May Day celebrations during the first week of May in the neopagan belief.

Venus was the daughter of the Sea and Heaven, a child born of Uranus and Gaia. Sadly, Venus was not born through love, but as a result of Gaia becoming so angered with Uranus that she cut off his genitals and tossed them into the ocean. Mixing with the foam from the sea, Venus was formed. She represents not maternity, but closer to lust. Her depiction of the birth has been made famous with Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" which depicts the "Greek" Goddess Venus rising from the sea on a scallop shell. The print was misnamed, as the woman is, in fact, the Roman Goddess. True to her nature, Venus married but had no particular liking for motherhood or hearth and home. She was quite the tart, in fact, and had many lovers including Adonis and Aries, known once again in Greek mythology as the God of War. While Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love is typically the deity honored for family and home life, her ''Counterpart" Venus has almost always been seen as a pampered, vain woman who can have any man she wants, and knows it.

Even today you are much more likely to find perfumes, love potions, and even women's skin care products including shavers with the name "Venus" rather than Aphrodite. This could have something to do with the fact that there is a planet named Venus, rather than Aphrodite as well. The planet Venus is associated with the earth signs of the zodiac, including Taurus, and party because of its reddish tint (not, however, to be confused with the planet Mars) it is reminiscent of a heart, blood flow, and all things feminine. Roman Goddesses are still confused with the Greek mythology, and many of the legends and stories overlap. For a better understanding of which is which, you can read more about both by typing the respective names into your search engine. But remember, it’s the Roman Goddess Venus and the Greek Goddess Aphrodite. Widgetized Footer - This panel is active and ready for you to add some widgets via the WP Admin Who Is the Roman Goddess Venus? Articles on Venus | Her Aspects | Her Profile The beautiful goddess Venus is probably most familiar from the armless statue known as the Venus de Milo, displayed at the Louvre, in Paris.

The statue is Greek, from the Aegean island of Milos or Melos, so one might expect Aphrodite, since the Roman goddess Venus is distinct from the Greek goddess, but there is substantial overlap. You'll notice the name Venus is often used in translations of Greek myths. Fertility Goddess The goddess of love has an ancient history. Ishtar/Astarte was the Semitic goddess of love. In Greece this goddess was called Aphrodite. Aphrodite was worshiped especially on the islands of Cyprus and Kythera. The Greek goddess of love played a crucial role in the myths about Atalanta, Hippolytus, Myrrha, and Pygmalion. Among mortals, the Greco-Roman goddess loved Adonis and Anchises. The Romans originally worshiped Venus as goddess of fertility. Her fertility powers spread from the garden to humans. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know The Greek aspects of the love and beauty goddess Aphrodite were added on to Venus' attributes, and so for most practical purposes, Venus is synonymous with Aphrodite. The Romans revered Venus as the ancestor of the Roman people through her liaison with Anchises.

"She was the goddess of chastity in women, despite the fact that she had many affairs with both gods and mortals. As Venus Genetrix, she was worshiped as the mother (by Anchises) of the hero Aeneas, the founder of the Roman people; as Venus Felix, the bringer of good fortune; as Venus Victrix, the bringer of victory; and as Venus Verticordia, the protector of feminine chastity. Venus is also a nature goddess, associated with the arrival of spring. She is the bringer of joy to gods and humans. Venus really had no myths of her own but was so closely identified with the Greek Aphrodite that she 'took over' Aphrodite's myths." Source: ( ~grandpa/rommyth2.html) Roman Gods: Venus The Parentage of the Goddess Venus/Aphrodite Venus was the goddess not only of love, but of beauty, so there were two important aspects to her and two main stories of her birth.

Note that these birth stories are really about the Greek version of the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite: "There were actually two different Aphrodites, one was the daughter of Uranus, the other the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The first, called Aphrodite Urania, was the goddess of spiritual love. The second, Aphrodite Pandemos, was the goddess of physical attraction." Source: Aphrodite Portraits of Venus Although we are most familiar with the nude Venus artistic representations, this wasn't always the way she was portrayed: "The patron deity of Pompeii was Venus Pompeiana; she was always shown as being fully clothed and wearing a crown. The statues and frescos which have been found in Pompeian gardens always show Venus either scantily clothed or totally nude. Pompeians seem to have referred to these nude images of Venus as Venus fisica; this may be from the Greek word physike, which meant 'related to nature'." ( Venus in Pompeiian Gardens Festivals of the Goddess Encyclopedia Mythica : "Her cult originated from Ardea and Lavinium in Latium.

The oldest temple known of Venus dates back to 293 B.C., and was inaugurated on August 18. Later, on this date the Vinalia Rustica was observed. A second festival, that of the Veneralia, was celebrated on April 1 in honor of Venus Verticordia, who later became the protector against vice. Her temple was built in 114 B.C. After the Roman defeat near Lake Trasum in 215 B.C., a temple was built on the Capitol for Venus Erycina. This temple was officially opened on April 23, and a festival, the Vinalia Priora, was instituted to celebrate the occasion." Roman Goddess Venus Roman Goddess Venus Areas of Influence: Venus was the Roman Goddess and love, beauty and seduction. The latter is suggested by the root word for her name "venes" which forms the root of the word venenum (poison) suggesting love potions and charms. This Goddess also represented motherhood, domesticity and prosperity. It is perhaps for this reason, that brides to be made offerings to her and why mosaics with images of this Goddess were often found in the home.

In earlier times she was the fertility Goddess of gardens, vineyards and humans. Later she took on aspects of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite and the Etruscan Deity Turan. She was more powerful and revered than her Greek counterpart as she was considered to be one of the divine ancestors of Rome. Julius Caesar claimed that he was descended from this Goddess and dedicated a temple to her in Rome for ensuring his military success. The Goddess of Love was also the patron of the normal, everyday wine with Jupiter responsible for the sacred wine used in the offerings to the Gods. Her name is also linked to the tiny pre-historic Goddesses found throughout Europe including the famous Venus of Willendorf. Origins and Genealogy: In Roman mythology she was the daughter of Jupiter and mother of the hero Aeneas. She took many lovers including Mars the God of war and Vulcan. Strengths: Love, sexuality and beauty. Weaknesses: Vanity and jealousy. Symbolism Often shown holding a mirror. This led to the Venus sign, a circle with a cross underneath which is used to symbolize females. In art she was shown as a beautiful, young Goddess.

For pictures of this goddess including the famous painting Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli and photo's of ancient statues please follow the link. Sacred Animals: Snake. Sacred Birds: Dove, swallow and swan. Sacred Plants: Aloe, wood anemone, apple, benzoin, maidenhair fern, heather, sweet marjaram, myrtle, parsley, quince, sandlewood and rose. Festivals: The main festival to this Goddess were held on 18th August, 1st April and 26th September. Greek Equivalent: Aphrodite Venus Archetype The Lover Represents passion and selfless devotion to another person. It also extends to the things that make our hearts sing, like music art or nature. The shadow aspect is obsessive passion that completely takes over and negatively impacts on your health and self esteem. The Roman Goddess of Love took on many of the roles of Aphrodite and was said to have numerous lovers. How To Work With These Archetypes The Lover You may be drawn to this Goddess if you are looking to attract a new lover or re-ignite the fire in an existing relationship. This Goddess can also be a useful tool to discover what you are passionate about in life.

On the shadow side you need to ask whether the amount of energy and time you are putting into relationships or projects is excessive? If this continues for too long you are likely to suffer from stress and physical ill health.

Question: Who is the Greek counterpart to the Roman goddess Venus
Answer: Aphrodite